View from our hotel room
King Bhumibol Adulyadej, known as Rama IX
Wee Jackie beside reclining Buddha
Golden Reclining Buddha
A row of Buddhas
Street sellers
Restoration work in progress
A line of Buddhas
A Chiropractic tutorial!
Stupas containing the remains of prominent people
Polishing rubies - glued to the ends of sticks
Cutting gemstones
The more modern Bangkok
The older part - the "Venice of the East"
Motive power - Isuzu ex-car engine
Residential houses along the "Klongs" - i.e. canals
Fish in the Klongs
Canal side stalls
Stop me and buy one!
Many houses feature shrines
The Buddha watches over the safety of the electricity supply!
Wat Arun, the "Temple of Dawn"
From just half-way up
The decorative porcelaine tiling is just amazing
Three of the hundreds of "Caryatids" supporting the temple
View towards the Royal Palace
Another boat trip on the Chao Phraya River
The Ugly
The Prettier
The Prettiest
The Royal palace is now used only as a ceremonial venue
And for history lessons
The Skytrain overhead track
There was a local election campaign in full flow
And the accompanying demonstrations!
Street shrine to The Buddha (and to the retail gods)
Traditional Thai greeting - outside our hotel
Thai flag and our hotel - then off to Australia
Jackie up (oops, by) a gum tree
A tree being strangled by a "strangler fig". The roots spread down from the seed that landed and germinated way up in a fork of the host tree.
Jackie & John admiring a tree in the central reservation
View to the sea from Heather & John's balcony, Coffs harbour
Manicured Bonville golf
course near Coffs Harbour
Old steam trains in, now, a rural museum
Historic 1920s hotel in Dorrigo
Classy joint the Dorrigo hotel! Fire damaged gum trees
Off licence shop display
Coconut washed up onTucker's beach
Driftwood hut
The Great Dividing Range of mountains |
 Gum trees - quite inflammable |
Hence . . . .
Heather & John's house - in the Coffs Harbour "jungle"
"Scribble bark" tree in botanical gardens at Coffs Harbour
Snack
time for Monty
Lighthouse at Byron Bay
Wedding by the Byron Bay lighthouse
Wedding cars at Byron Bay lighthouse
Byron Bay culture
Byron Bay - more style
Eagle Heights bar & cafe at Mt Tamborine
Kookaburras at Mt Tamborine
Not a cannon - an Aboriginal drum for messaging over distances
Botanic Gardens - Mt Tamborine
Backpackers waiting to visit "Glow-worm caves" North Tamborine
Jackie and Sheila (Alison Wood's sister) when we stayed overnight.
View from our hotel room on Hamilton Island
Heading to the Great Barrier Reef
Our destination - the floating pontoon on the Great Barrier Reef
Shark beneath the pontoon
One of the crew aboard the pontoon
Shoal of fish beneath the pontoon
Fish beside the pontoon
Turtle beside the pontoon
Turtle beside the pontoon
Photo from within the semi-submersible boat down on/beside the reef
Photo from within the semi-submersible boat down on/beside the reef
Photo from within the semi-submersible down on/beside the reef
Corals on the reef
Corals on the reef
Corals on the reef
Corals on the reef
"Brain" Corals on the reef
Corals on the reef
Corals on the reef
Corals on the reef
Corals on the reef
The submarine viewing boat
The sun deck on the pontoon
The Great Barrier Reef
A crew member preparing a much-needed "sick" bag
A snapper and a fellow passenger on the way back to Hamilton Island
The start & finish venue for the visit to the Great Barrier Reef
Beach at our hotel on Hamilton Island
Cockatoo visitors to our balcony
At the wild life park on the Island. The keeper/guide was very good; we learned quite a lot about - Wombats (with their rear-facing pouch and armour-plated bottom!) And several other marsupials - including a Koala with a tiny baby in her pouch.
Wombat
Cassowary
Dingo - seemed a lovely creature
Koala on the move - a rare sight!
Touring Hamilton Island by golf buggy.
Our hotel - "Reef View" (bit of a misnomer) on the right.
Church on Hamilton Island - with bride and wedding car(t)!
We found a Wallaby skeleton up on the top of the Island; the park keeper was very pleased to have it as an educational aid.
Window inside the church
The golf range - no need to replace divots! Balls collected by divers.
The bar at the top of the island
Beach Volleyball
Sunset from our room
The Atrium of the Reef
View hotel
The Gold Coast - view of the towers from the road near our appartment
View from our 21st floor appaartment
We shared the appartment, courtesy of Heather & John
Surfers'paradise
What erosion? I trust the foundations go really deep!
The beautiful people
Another beautiful person
If only I could have found a parking place!
Out on the "Spit" at the northern end of Gold Coast. The idea of a relaxing Sunday was to race up and down on jet-skis and motor boats.
The owner said he'd taken his car abroad - but wouldn't consider Britain; he'd been there and everything metal just rusts.
Fair warning in a cafe at Ferry Park on journey back down to Coffs Harbour.
The major industry around Coffs Harbour was banana growing; now much reduced in scale.
Having driven a few miles in search of wild kangaroos, there was a wallaby in Heather & John's garden when we got back!
Emerald Beach
Woolgoolga. Hindu temple.
Whale watching headland at Woolgoolga
Market day at Coffs harbour
Heather, Jackie and John shopping
The jetty at Coffs Harbour
Dolphin kisses
And for Jackie
Bellingen is a bit "alternative"
Knickers, knobs and poofs for sale in Belligen.
Just had to buy something there!
Still some banana fields - fruit protected with bags.
Rainbow from Heather & John's balcony
Last evening with Heather & John